The Lord Son's Travels (51 page)

Chapter 48

The
last evening of their sojourn in Evendor had finally arrived, to the great
relief of visitors and host.
 
The
Lady had arranged for a grand banquet to honor her guests, or at least civilly
send them on their way.
 
Adrien
intended to finalize the arrangements for his marriage by discussing the matter
with the potential bride.
 
Brendan
had suggested waiting for the festivities that night to make his formal
proposal, assuring him it would be more romantic and memorable than a lunchtime
conference.
 
Adrien agreed
reluctantly, sure that his friend understood such things well enough to depend
on his judgment, even if he personally saw no good reason for the delay.
 
It was easy to keep himself busy and
distracted in the bustle of preparations; he rarely saw Elenna as she tended to
her own chores during the final frantic days at the School.
 

The
Allè-dôn
ians foiled
the event planner's grand scheme by arriving separately at the venue.
 
Brendan and Adrien were the only ones
to report at the correct time to receive the formal greetings from the Lady and
hear her speech and those of several of her ministers.
 
Elenna's final meeting with the
blacksmiths had run inexcusably late; she was still being ushered into her
formal wear at departure time, and the men had decided that it would be better
for her to arrive later at the party with Tarien as her escort than for all to
arrive late and to throw off the whole agenda for the evening.
 
The Lady of the School didn't seem
offended by the loss of the other Lady's company; since their confrontation
diplomats from both factions had subtly tried to keep them separated as much as
possible.
 
Adrien had never asked
Elenna about her accusations, but they still lingered in the back of his mind
for discussion later.
 

 
She was on his mind now, as he
listlessly fingered his drink and gazed out at the vibrant atmosphere of the
celebration.
 
The Students were
thrilled by the change of mood at the normally somber School.
 
Their costumes were concoctions of
color and brightness created with soft materials, somehow formed into glorious
hats and sheer veils and long trains and robes of vibrant hues.
 
Those of noble background proudly
displayed their family colors, while those of baser birth wore creams and
blacks and rich chocolates.
 
Adrien
was the only partygoer in red; he and his companions had received formal
costumes as a gift from the Lady that morning.
 

Observing
the fripperies worn by the girls eagerly crowding into the reception hall, he
had no doubt the difficulties her servants were having fitting Elenna into a
similar dress.
 
He imagined the
scene with a bit of delight and some pity for the servant, then reverted back
to his uncharacteristic nervousness.
 
He tugged at the neckline of his blouse and sighed.
 
He was not fond of the male style of
dressing in Evendor; his collar was high, tight, and itchy, the sleeves were
long, full, and in his way, and his cloak too heavy in the warm hall.
 
It was another reason he would be quite
glad to be done with this place.

Brendan
coughed to gain his attention.
 
The
Lady of the School was passing their end of the table on the way to her
own.
 
She nodded at their greetings
and wished them a pleasant journey.
 
The meal should have been served by now but was being delayed because of
their companions; Elenna and Tarien were now pushing the boundaries of good
taste in their tardiness.
 
Adrien
downed a quick glass of good wine and was gratified to see plates of sweets
were now making the rounds as an apology for the delay in the meal.
 

Adrien
and Brendan talked amiably about other formal occasions they had passed through
together in Allé-dôn and their journey through Outland.
 
They were left alone for the most part;
few of the students approached, though most watched them from afar with a
mixture of awe and fear.
 
Several
students approached and offered to join them in battle; these were directed to
Tomas and his men to train.
 
Adrien
had no doubt this offended the Lady, but he would take every body he could to
fill the ranks.
 

Adrien
tried to keep up with conversation, but as he spoke, he kept being distracted
by the announcement of the arrival of new guests.
 
Every woman was worth a glance only to ascertain she wasn’t
the one he waited for.
  
Music
had begun; melodious joyful tunes reminding him of the elves and the evening
they had spent together in their company.
 
Nearly two hundred people filled the huge chamber; milling about,
talking, laughing.
 
All entrances
to the chamber were made through the main set of doors.
 
A servant had been stationed there to
announce the arrivals of people of importance to the Lady.
 
Before each announcement, the servant
would clap his hands loudly for the attention of all.
 
This time the room grew nearly silent as the Lady Elenna of
the Blade’s entrance was announced.

Her
gown was the deepest, richest green he had not seen since the meadows
surrounding the Citadel of Allè-dènè.
 
Her hair was piled on her head, a few tendrils sneaking out from under
the gold combs holding it in place.
  
From her shoulders a soft translucent green cloak flowed to the
ground.
 
When she moved her hands,
gold bracelets jingled softly with every move.
 
She had worn her empty scabbard hung low on her hips; this
was what drew the stares of the crowd.
 
None had ever seen one of the ancient legendary Neda Alia of Allé-dôn,
and now there were two in the room.
 
She fidgeted as she waited for the official welcome from the Lady seated
across the room that would allow her to enter.
 
She was too busy evaluating the new arrival; her disapproval
evident despite her formal expression.
 
Finally the Lady coldly nodded her salutation, and Elenna was free to
scan the crowd for her companions.
 
When she noted their familiar faces, she smiled and turned their
way.
 
A path spontaneously formed
through the entranced Students allowing her free access to their table.

Brendan
had sprung to his feet as soon as he was aware of her entrance.
 
He shook his head in admiration.
 
“Now she looks like a Lady,” he
enthused with a fraternal pride.

Adrien
had risen more slowly.
 
His eyes
followed her progression as a dog eying a plate of meats.
 
He admired her confident steps, the
stately arch of her neck and back.
 
“She looks like a queen,” he contradicted softly.

 
Elenna drew up to their table.
 
“Welcome,” Adrien greeted her.
 
He offered her a seat next to his.
 
She accepted with a smile that brought
warmth to his cheeks.
 

“I’m
sorry I’m so late.
 
This took more
work than the poor servants expected.”
 
A server arrived with a glass of whisk that she accepted gratefully.
 

Brendan
assured her their effort had paid off.
 
“You clean up rather well.”

“Who would have thought!” she laughed.
Brendan asked about Tarien; she relayed his apologies for skipping the dinner
to instead rest up for the start of their travels the next day.
 
Adrien allowed his companions to keep
up a lively conversation throughout dinner, only answering briefly when
directly acknowledged.
 
Neither
took his distance personally, assuming only that he had other business in mind
that was keeping him occupied.
 
Adrien was formulating a plan, but mainly he was entranced by watching
Elenna.
 
She was in a good mood;
happy to be leaving the School and very satisfied by the work she had completed
during their stay on both the talismans gifts and the projectile weapons.
 
Whenever she leaned forward, he could
see exposed on her back the symbol of the Four Blades he had cut there for her
not so long ago.
 
Her address as
Lady was no longer an euphemism since becoming Neda Alia, he mused.
 
Her rank within
Allè-dôn
society was
now high enough that his mother couldn't hold that as an argument against their
marriage.
 
As the first Lady of the
Blade, she had already earned a prominent place in the history of the Kingdom
he hoped fervently she wouldn't refuse to make her future home.
 

All
of them had intended to leave the celebration as soon as etiquette would allow,
but to their own surprise after all of the required procedures were done they
remained at their table, drinking a couple rounds of excellent wine and indulging
in good-natured bantering. Their current location inspired a discussion of the
other formal dinners they had attended during their travels.
 
This led to other stories of events the
royalborn and nobleborn had attended together back in
Allè-dènè
.
 
Elenna listened in amusement as Brendan
teased his friend lightly for his legendary escapes from formal functions
during his youth at the Capital.
 
She rejoined with descriptions of their joint getaways during their travels.
  
As their cups were emptied and
refilled, she would catch Adrien's eye and smile with pleasure at his evident
contentment revealed in return.
 
They had been so many places together now, but this was one of the few
times she could honestly say she had seen her companion this happy in
public.
 

Elenna
shared a few stories of parties she had attended in her previous life.
 
Adrien was intrigued by Halloween
costume parties, at first protesting the duplicity of the concept, then teasing
his friend about possible outfits.
 
This led to a discussion of holidays in general.
 
Allé-dônians had many yearly festivals
to celebrate; one they noted in surprise was very similar to Elenna’s favorite
holiday of Christmas.
 
In the
Eastlands tradition, Saka Clata brought gifts to good children on the last full
moon of the winter season.

The
conversation continued a bit longer, until they realized their cups were no
longer being refilled, and the room had emptied significantly.
 
Brendan rose from his seat and asked to
be excused.
 
He glanced at Adrien
and offered a conspiratorial wink.
 
Elenna remained in her seat and wished Brendan a good evening.
 
He exited graciously, leaving the two
of them alone.
 

Adrien
could only watch her in silence, nervously fidgeting as his plan of attack
advanced to the next step.
 
She was
also somewhat edgy, fiddling with the seam of her gown in silence.
 
Elenna could sense the wheels turning
in his head, realizing something had been in the works all night, but she had
no idea what Adrien could be up to now on the last night of the visit.

 
“It’s warm in here,” she finally
commented, fanning herself with her hand.
 
He nodded in agreement, then asked abruptly if she would like to take a
walk outside.
 
She acquiesced, and
he offered her an arm to help her from her chair.
 
Her dress had a wide flouncy skirt radiating from the
tightly fastened waist and bodice.
 
She rolled her eyes and laughed as she rescued sections of hem from
underneath the legs of the neighboring chairs.
 

The
Lady of Evendor had departed some time ago without their notice.
 
In her absence the party had grown more
raucous; the laughter and singing was free-spirited.
 
The remaining Students shouted cheery good-evenings as the
last
Allè-dôn
ian
guest exited the chamber.
 
Adrien
welcomed the blast of cool air that greeted them as they exited the House and
overheated chamber.
 
Nights were
cool at this altitude; he realized now why cloaks were an integral part of
evening dress.

“Which
way?” she asked, and he motioned past the School.
 
A short path led to the very edge of the Needle to wind
around its perimeter.
 
The edges of
the Needle were well-marked with burning torches to prevent any unfortunate
accidents, but not so bright their eyes couldn't adjust quickly to admire the
excellent view of the stars overhead. To the far right of their position, the
bridge was a ribbon of flame disappearing into the darkness.
 
Elenna tried to peer into the darkness
at the massive stone protrusions she knew surrounded them.